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Benito Mussolini
Mussolini was an Italian facist dictator and died in 1945 shortly after the German surrender. During WWII he allied himself with Nazi Germany and Japan. He founded the Facist party in 1919. The Pact of Steel in 1939 between Germany and Italy strengthened their beliefs and operations discriminating the Jews. In 1940 Mussolini officially declared war on Britain and France, but met his downfall starting in 1943 when Allied troops invaded Sicily and began to take over. Mussolini was shot in 1945. -
Joseph Stalin
Stalin was the dictator of the USSR from 1929 to 1953. During WWII Stalin worked with the Allied Powers to fight NAzi Germany. Although he was part of the allied powers his country was full or military superpower. In 1939 Stalin had originally signed a non-aggression pact with Hitler. Throughout the war he participated in Allied Powers conferences such as Tehran in 1943 and Yalta 1945. -
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
After he was born in 1882 FDR became president in 1932. By 1940 Britain and France were suffering from being attacked by the Germans while the US remained neautral, but FDR started to aid them in as many ways possible by sending supplies. After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 FDR had the nation preparing for global war. Unfortunately FDR died in early 1945 and his VP became President -
Adolf Hitler
After being born in 1889 Hitler had already rose to power and control over the German government with the Nazi party by 1933. He was known as one of the most powerful and infamous leadurings during WWII and the 20th Century. He started WWII in 1939 with his attack on Poland. During the era of the war Hitler is known for establishing concentration camps to inter Jews which resulted in the death of more than 6 million people in the Holocaust. -
Chamberlain
Neville Chamberlain was Prime Minister of Britain from 1937-1940.One of his most famous actions as Prime Minister was signing the Munich Agreement in 1938, which gave a region of Czechoslovakia to the Nazis. Then in 1939 Britain declared war on Germany after the Pact was broken by Hitler. Chamberlains tactics included pacifying Hitler and Nazi Germany for the most part. -
The Manhattan Project
America's first attempt at creating an atomic bomb under the presidency of FDR. The purpose was to create a weapon of mass destruction without Axis Powers discovering it. It was so secretive that even VP Truman didn't know about it untill he became president in 1945. On July 16, 1945, at Trinity Site the first test of an atomic weapon took place. In August of 1945 Little Boy, a gun-type weapon, and implosion-type Fat Man were used in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. -
Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg was a type of war tactic which the Germans first started using during WWII. It involved speed and needed a military force to be based around light tank units supported by planes and infantry with an element of surprise. Therefore, it got the name Blitzkrieg which means lightning war. It became a very effective tactic for the Germans in creating disorganization and giving them many victories. -
Churchill
Winston Churchill was born in 1874 and died in 1965. He was the prime minister of Great Britain from 1940 to 1945. During WWII he became well known for his leadership in fighting the Nazi party. He had a close relationship with the U.S. and presidents FDR and Truman. During the war he met with the Allied Powers multiple times trying to find a way to stop the Axis Powers agression. One of his many heroic talents was as an orator he gained many supporters for his beliefs. -
Hirohito
He was the emperor of Japan from 1929 untill 1989. His participation in WWII started when he signed the Tripartite Pact with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy which meant they would all support eachother in war. He started to occupy smaller countries by sending roops there like French Indochine and eventually confirmed the decision to attack Pearl Harbor. He did not surrender Japan until after the dopping of the atom bombs in August of 1945. -
The Holocaust
The mass murder of some 6 million European Jews and other persecuted groups the Hitler and the Nazi party. It started mainly in 1941 with mass transportation of the persecuted groups to concentration camps mainly lcoated in occupied Poland. From 1942 to 1945, Jews were deported to the camps from all over Europe. The idea of the Germans was to use the more useful people for work and elimnate those who couldn't work. The camps were put to an end in 1945 when Allied Powers began taking over. -
Bombing of Pearl Harbor
This was an attack on the American Naval base near Honolulu, Hawaii and was planned by the Japanese. Japanese fighter planes attacked early morning targeting the American Pacific fleet. The attack lasted 2 hours and in the end 20 American naval vessels (8 major battleships) and almost 200 airplanes. More than 2,000 Americans soldiers and sailors died in the attack, and another 1,000 were wounded. War was declared on Japan by FDR the day after the attack. -
Internment Camps
Just after the bombing of Pearl Harbor FDR ordered the evacuation of all Japanese-Americans from the West Coast to internment camps located in the west. Around 120,000 people were relocated and many of those people included families being broken up. This caused a lot of contoversy becuase of the fact that it was against the Constitution and citizens basic rights. In 1945 people were allowed to start going back to their homes and the West Coast. In 1946 the last camp was closed. -
Island Hopping
This was tactic used by the United States which meant gaining military bases and strong forces on many islands located throughout the Pacific,. Allied forces began attacking and conquering Islands not strongly defended by the Japanese and eventually built up a large force of controlled islands used to fight the Japanese. Although it had some struggles and disadvantages to it Island Hopping ended up being very successful for the US in getting closer to invading Japan. -
Battle of Midway
This was one of the most important naval battles that took place during WWII and took place 6 months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The US was able to break Japanese codes and prevent them from an ambush resulting in a US victory. The American base on the Midway was somewhat damaged from Japanese air attacks, but continued to be an advantage for the US during the war. -
Normandy Invasions
Also known as D-Day this was the onvasion of five beaches by the Allied Forces of U.S., Britaim, and Canada. It was an invasion of France used to successfully win the war or start to gain crucial victories. Air support divisions were also provided as part of support for the ground troops. Some of the worst fighting took place at Omaha due to bad terrain and problems with landing maps. -
Battle of the Bulge
This battle was one of the Germans last offensive actions in attempt to push the Allied Powers front line west from northern France to northwestern Belgium. The German tactic was to push through American defense near the Adrennes forest where the Germans created a "bulge" to fight the Allied forces. Eventually better weather enabled American aircraft to bomb and strafe German positions. -
Iwo Jima
Americans invaded the small island of Iwo Jima in order to gain control of landing strips for B-29's. Marines spent over a month fighting Japanese forces in rough terrain. At the end of the battle around 7,000 American's lost their lives and 24,000 were wounded. After the battle was won for Allied forces Iwo Jima was used as a safe haven during the bombing runs to Japan. -
Battle of Okinawa
The U.S. planned to capture Okinawa and use it to their advantage to invade the main Islands of Japan. During this battle the Japanese used intricate underground systems as a tactic. It was full of brutal warfare and both sides suffered major casualties. In the end 12,000 U.S. soldiers and Navy personnel were dead or missing and more than 36,000 were wounded. -
Dropping the Atomic Bombs
Dropping of the atomic bombs was conducted by the United States during the final stages of World War II on August 6 and 9.This has been the only use ever of nuclear weapons during wartime. President Truman made the executive decision to use the weapons at this time.The 509th Composite Group of the U.S. Army Air Forces carried out this task and effects included the deaths of 90,000–166,000 people in Hiroshima and 60,000–80,000 in Nagasaki and eventually the surrendur of Japan. -
Battle of Berlin
This was the last major offensive battle in Europe. The Soviet forces were attacking Berlin from the east, south and north. It was a short battle that only lasted for a few weeks and it was during this battle that Hitler and some of his followers committed suicide. -
Harry Truman
Truman became President in 1945 when FDR passed away. Truman was and has been the only president to ever use nuclear power to end a war and because of his choice to drop the atom bombs it lead to the end of WWII. Turman didn't even know about the Manhattan project untill he became president. He was also faced with dealing with the aftermath of WWII and issues witht eh U.S.S.R.
